EAST LANSING — Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio started and ended his football press conference on Tuesday talking about a pumpkin.

It's Purdue week, and quite frankly, the most interesting aspect of Tuesday's 17-minute press conference was the giant pumpkin located in the lower lobby of Spartan Stadium.

"I think I have to start the deal here with saying is that the biggest pumpkin you've ever seen down in the lobby?'' Dantonio said with a smile.

Yes, a smile.

Life is good in East Lansing, where the Spartans have gotten off to a 2-0 start in the Big Ten and have the worst team in the league, and arguably one of the worst in the nation, coming to town on Saturday for a noon kickoff.

Michigan State (5-1 overall) is a 26-point favorite over a Boilermakers (1-5, 0-2) team that has been outscored 140-41 in its past three games.

Let's reflect: Remember when it seemed like a far-fetched concept that the Spartans could even score 26 points in a football game?

Sure, Michigan State scored 26 in its opener against Western Michigan. But two of the three touchdowns scored against those horrible Broncos (0-7) were scored by the defense.

Remember when it was 7-7 against Western Michigan with less than a minute left in the first half?

The Michigan State head coach was in a pickle and getting peppered with criticism as Spartans' fans envisioned getting squashed in Big Ten play.

Then South Florida came to town, fresh off a 53-21 drubbing at the hands of FCS school McNeese State in its opener.

The Bulls trailed the Spartans 7-6 at halftime, and do you remember that it was the defense that scored the only touchdown in the first half of that game?

The final was 21-6, in favor of Michigan State, but again, the defense scored two of the three touchdowns.

The offense was downright embarrassing, and while the coaches and players kept a good front, it was threatening to tear the team apart.

The Spartans' receivers were dropping everything thrown in their direction, backs were running like they were blindfolded, and it seemed Dantonio was trotting out a different quarterback every series, waiting — hoping — lightning would strike.

It never did.

So Dantonio made a command decision, essentially picking Connor Cook as his quarterback, telling him the week of the Youngstown State game that he was going to start him and stick with him even if mistakes were made.

Co-offensive coordinator Dave Warner said it was a different approach than had been taken in earlier games when quarterbacks knew their playing time depended on their performance.

It was Dantonio ending the competition.

It was a competition meant to be won on the field, as it had gone on through spring drills and fall camp with hitting and live scrimmages at each turn.

Dantonio wanted a quarterback who could extend plays and avoid mistakes.

And with an unreliable receiving corps, mobility as the position was a necessity.

Cook responded with a 15-of-22 passing performance against the FCS Penguins that netted 202 yards and four touchdowns in little more than a half of play before Dantonio gave Andrew Maxwell and Tyler O'Connor the remainder of the repetitions.

What seemed too good to be true proved just that, as Cook went to Notre Dame the following week and managed just one touchdown drive — aided by two 15-yard Irish penalties — in the 58 minutes he played.

Maxwell entered the game to conduct the two-minute drill, and the offense collapsed around him.

A false start, a dropped pass and an embarrassing scramble that fell well short on fourth down in a 17-13 loss.

What little national respect the No. 1 defense in the nation had gained for the program -- a No. 24 spot in the USA Today coaches poll -- vanished with the offense flailing and failing.

The bye week proved well-timed, the Spartans grew more resolved, and a 26-14 win over a friendly Iowa zone pass defense followed.

Last Saturday, Michigan State scored a 42-28 win over an Indiana team that might have the best offense in the Big Ten — as well as the worst defense.

And now, here comes Purdue. The little engine that can't is last in the Big Ten in scoring offense and last in the Big Ten in scoring defense.

And the talk turns to pumpkins.

A trip to toothless Illinois is on deck after Dantonio and the Spartans name their score against Purdue on Saturday.

By Halloween, Michigan State will likely be dressed as a Top 25-ranked team and a Big Ten title contender.

Trick or treat?

Dantonio's final question on Tuesday, from a television reporter, was "Talk more about that pumpkin.''

Dantonio smiled — yes, again — and replied, "They don't have those down in Zanesville (Ohio) that size, I can tell you that.''